Self-Empowerment Blog

Today I want to share something with you that I learned from a wise man. Now notice I didn’t say an intelligent man, or an educated man…I said “wise” man.

Having studied with very learned Professors in both the states and Europe I used to think that if a person had a bunch of letters after his/her name it meant that  he/she  must be extremely wise. It wasn’t until later in life I found out …”taint necessarily so !”  Oh professors have intelligence alright but that doesn’t guarantee wisdom.  Through the years I’ve come to learn that “Intelligence” and “Wisdom” are two entirely different things. I’ve learned that intelelligence comes from the cognitive brain, while wisdom comes from the “all knowing” heart.

It turns out that my neighbor, with his sixth grade education from the mountains of Virginia  was one of the wisest individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.  I remember when I finally graduated college and received  my teaching credential and I thought I just about knew everything and was prepared to start imparting it on young minds. Before I started my first week of teaching I was talking with my neighbor, who was quite advanced in years,  and said “Any advice?”  He said, “Just this, tell your kids in spite of what they read or hear, life is NOT a competition…it’s a cooperation… the sooner they learn that, the happier their lives will be.” …and so right he was. Both,my students and myself quickly learned that when we stop challenging, fighting , competing and comparing …our life not only seems to get easier, but we start to notice how well we all seem to “fit together” like pieces of a puzzle  working in harmony for the greater good of everyone involved.

As my friend, and I both grew older, and it became evident he wouldn’t be on this planet much longer I remember visiting him in the hospital, just days before he passed. I remember asking him “What’s the secret of life ?”  He looked at me with sparkling eyes and said, “Row row row your boat !”  and grinned. I thought wow, after all these years he’s really lost it. Surely he’s losing his mind. ( Of course I didn’t tell him that.)  I said “What?”  He said, “Think about it.   What does it say? ” I said, “Row row row your boat gently…” He said, “Stop!  That’s it !”  I said, “What’s it ?”  He said, ” Row GENTLY…not with a vengence, not like there is no tomorrow,but  GENTLY” Then he said, “What else does it say?” I said, “Gently down the stream…” he held up his hand for me to stop and said “Precisely…DOWN the stream, not up against the current, not fighting and struggling,  go with the flow…gently with the flow… What else ?”  I said, “Merrily merrily…”  He said, “EXACTLY !  Merrily…be merry, keep a smile on your face, be happy, remember to laugh often, enjoy life.  What else ?”  I said, “Life is but a dream.”  He said  ”It sure is…life is exactly as you chose to see it.  You can see the glass half empty or you can see it half full…but either way the glass is there. !”  And so it is for each of us. Life is exactly as we chose to see it.  Change your thinking…and you change your life !